Taiwanese should use their votes to change the government because the current administration under President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) is wasting taxpayers’ money and does not take care of the public, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday.
“If the people want a president who knows how to ‘keep the house on a sparse income,’ then I’m the public’s perfect choice,” Tsai said at a campaign stop in Greater Tainan.
During her visit to various temples, passionate supporters, including some between 70 and 80 years old, greeted Tsai with calls of tong-suan (凍蒜, meaning “get elected” in Hoklo, commonly known as Taiwanese).
Photo: Wang Chin-yi, Taipei Times
Some others even showed their support by handing Tsai red envelopes stuffed with donations for her campaign.
“Many people tell me they feel these past few years have been difficult or that they often feel ‘gloomy,’” Tsai said.
According to Tsai, there were three reasons why people said they were gloomy: First, it was because the current government did not care for the rights and sovereignty of Taiwanese and people felt no “honor” in being Taiwanese, she said.
“Second, was because the younger generation can’t find jobs and that leads their parents and grandparents to worry,” Tsai said, adding that the elderly often feel panicked because they have no one to rely on when their children or grandchildren have no income.
“Finally, it is because the current government is very adept at ‘misusing money,’” Tsai said.
“The Ma administration can spend NT$200 million [US$6.66 million] to hold a celebratory soiree for the nation’s 100th anniversary featuring the Dreamers musical, but it can’t manage to allot NT$10 million to give milk to poor children,” Tsai said.
Tsai added that the nation’s development was imbalanced with the majority of the resources being allocated to the north, thus limiting development in the south.
“This is a very unfair situation,” she said.
Tsai said she hoped people would use their votes to change the current government for one that would safeguard Taiwan’s sovereignty, one that would fairly use and allocate resources and allow for balanced development between northern and southern Taiwan.
“Let your votes give you a government that will give the people faith and pride in being Taiwanese,” Tsai said to the crowd.
Tsai is slated to open her regional campaign headquarters in Greater Kaohsiung today.
Translated by Jake Chung, staff writer
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